Candidate for Bachelor of Science in Financial Economics
Sherifa Clarke is an ASAP Bachelor Extension student, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Economics and a (possible) minor in Computer Information Science. She is a first-generation college graduate with a current GPA of 3.9. She was born and raised in Jamaica and began her academic journey at Medgar Evers College (MEC) in 2019. She credits her drive to complete her degree to a promise she made to her father before he passed in 2017. She recalls that she didn’t have a specific degree in mind when she applied but kept insisting, “I owe my father a college degree; he didn’t specify which” when she first met Andy Rennie in the academic office while touring the six colleges she was accepted to.
Sherifa is a staunch student advocate who joined the Student Government Association (SGA) after much prodding from students, faculty, and administration. She is the current Social Media Chair, Senior Class President, and former Junior Class Representative (2022) of the SGA. She is also the current president of one of the top three student chapters under the New York professional chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). She strongly believes in the motto “Lifting as We Climb” and has assisted many students’ job searches. She credits the NABA club’s achievements and success to having the best faculty advisor, Professor Elene Evelyn, who also encouraged her to join in 2020. Additionally, she is a mentor and student co-chair of the School of Business Peer Mentorship program, a program designed during the pandemic to assist incoming and transfer students acclimate to virtual life at Medgar Evers College.
Sherifa is the first-ever Thurgood Marshall College Fund Yard Ambassador & Influencer and the first-ever Hewlett Packard Future of Work Academy Technologist Ambassador for Medgar Evers College. She is also an ambassador for the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development (SFE&PD), Inc., and placed third in the 2021 SFE&PD HBCU Stock Competition. Sherifa has represented MEC at Deloitte University’s Emerging Leaders Program in Dallas, TX, the HBCU Dean’s Roundtable Summit, and the 2022 One NABA conference. She has received numerous scholarships and awards, including the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) Legacy Scholarship, the Charles T. Davidson Scholarship, the Medgar Evers College Community Council Scholarship, and a two-time recipient of the PayPal National Scholarship award, among many others.
She likes to travel in her free time–she completed most of her fall 2022 semester in Europe on a study abroad program, visiting 13 countries there. She also loves watching movies (Sci-Fi and Marvel) and can be found putting her Regal Unlimited card to good use most Thursday evenings, enjoying her “self-care” time, reading, or playing SIMS4.
